Doing it up, Summer-style

Hey friends!  I know it's been a while, but hey, I've been summering.  Summering hard.  Everyone knows my favourite time of year is fall and winter, but I promise you, I've been doing my very best to not think about it.  I haven't been holed up in my house pretending it's fall.  I've been soaking up this glorious hot summer, and doing it up in style.  Here are some of the highlights from past 6 weeks:

• Pontoon Ride, Take 1 - One of my favourite things to do at least once during the summer is to head out on a pontoon ride on the Ottawa River with friends Kerry & Jeff.  The day Kerry texted me it was a sweltering hot Saturday, and I was sitting out on the deck reading, wishing I had a pool or some body of water nearby.  Perfect timing!  I gathered up my stuff, they picked me up late afternoon, and we spent a wonderful few hours out on the river, cruising along, and stopping at the island to wade in the shallow water.  Not even the appearance of a water snake right beside me could ruin my day!  It was fabulous. 

• Stacy & Ricky's Wedding -  My friend Stacy is my oldest friend, we go all the way back to pre-K (maybe even before?) and I was so excited to be part of her and her long-time love Ricky's wedding day on July 21st, as she had asked me to be the photographer.  I'm not a professional, and I had never done a wedding before, but I was pretty confident I could capture the day for them.  I ended up being more nervous than I expected - I started worrying I wouldn't get any good shots at all - but once I got up there and started snapping, I felt better and settled into my role just fine.  It was a gorgeous day, a beautiful wedding, and everyone was so easy to work with.  Laid back, casual, and so much fun.  When it was over, I wondered what I had ever even been worrying about.  Over the next few days, as I went over the pictures and started editing, I felt pretty happy with some of the photos I got, and Stacy & Ricky seemed happy too.  It was such a terrificday, watching two of my favourite people finally say "I do", and I'm glad I got to capture the day for them!  These are a few of my favourite pics:
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• Birthday Shenanigans - The end of July brought my 35th birthday, and it was another great one!  It started a few days early, with my friend Lindsay treating me to a pedicure and dinner at one of my favourite spots, Bistro Vitalia.  Then the Friday was my last day of work before going on vacation, and so after work, my mom and I went shopping and had a delicious Thai dinner at Chez In in Shawville.  Saturday was the big day, and what could be better than celebrating at our town's Tractor & Truck Pull??  It's one of my favourite events of the summer, and I couldn't have been happier than to celebrate at the Pull!  I hung out with friends during the day, and eventually we went over to the Legion for the after-party.  Dancing, drinks, and lots of birthday fun!  It was a memorable day!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Summer Vacation at the Camp -  I was up bright and early the next morning, despite the night of celebrating, to get ready for our annual family vacation to my aunt & uncle's camp on the river.  Before we left, my family gifted me with some wonderful presents - books, a big floaty swan to bring to the camp with me (from Danica, of course lol), a new shower head, a rock salt lamp, and a Fitbit... pretty much everything on my wish list, they fulfilled!  I am a lucky girl!!  Our first day at the camp was a continuation of birthday celebrations, as the family gathered and we had a delicious supper and cake.  Another fantastic day!!  The next few days were spent playing in the water, kayaking, napping in the hammock, reading, eating, being treated by Danica to s'mores, playing games, and just having a wonderful time.  I love my days at the camp - always anticipate them with all my heart, and feel so sad when they're over.  The only downside to this year's trip to the camp was that we had some reptilian visitors.  Blech.  There were a couple of snakes that hung out on the logs by the dock the whole time we were there.  I was proud of myself, though.  As a kid, if snakes were around, I'd have never gone near the water.  This time, I made up my mind I wasn't going to let them ruin my fun.  So I kept an eye on them, but as long as they were on the logs where I could see them, I didn't hesitate to get in the water. See, I AM growing up! ;)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Summer Vacation continued - We returned home from the camp on Wednesday, and I spent the rest of that day unpacking and unwinding.  As much as I love the camp, I am a homebody at heart, and I was happy to get home to all my "things".  A shower, AC, my shows, my bed... I settled right back into home.  On the Thursday, my friend Sharon treated me to lunch at one of her favourite spots - and now mine - Art Is In Bakery, and also gifted me with the new Emily Giffin book.  I had a great day with her and the twins, as we also made a few stops on the way home, and capped the day off with a treat from Starbucks.  On the Friday, my mom and I went to see Mama Mia: Here We Go Again at the theatre, and we both loved it.  We had supper at Boston Pizza.  Then on Saturday, I don't think I did much - read out on the deck, got some sun, and had ice cream with Mom.  Holiday week was going swimmingly!!
• Lainey's Baptism - With my holidays winding down, I had a special occasion to attend on the Sunday, as that was Lainey's baptism.  I had been honoured to be asked to be her Godmother, and so I was happy the big day had arrived!  It was a joy to stand at the front of the church with my friends Lindsay and Ryan, their son Sam, and baby Lainey, as well as Lainey's namesake, her 101-year-old great-great aunt Elaine, and the ministers Éric and Rev. Susan as Lainey was welcomed into the family of God.  We celebrated afterwards at Linds and Ryan's with a fabulous lunch and swimming in their pool.  It was such a wonderful day!!  I was also super excited to give Lainey the gift I had been working on over the past month - a Hugs & Kisses crocheted blanket and stuffed lady bug.  I was so happy with how they turned out!
  
  
  
  
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• Beach Day - Stacy had put out notice that she was planning to hit up the beach on the holiday Monday, and I thought that was a perfect way to end my week off, so I joined her and Maddy at the beach along with a great group of friends.  We played in the water, chatted while we chilled out on our towels, ate snacks, and enjoyed yet another beautiful day.  I couldn't think of a better way to close out my holidays.  I just love being on the water!
  
• Movie Night - My friend Caryl had asked me if I wanted to join her and her little girls at a movie some night this summer, so my first day back to work was made a little easier with a movie night to look forward to!  We went to see Hotel Transylvania 3 and we had a lot of laughs.  The girls loved it, and we all had a great evening!
• Book Club - Our summer book club was held at Sharon's house, and she had prepared an amazing feast for us that night, which we ate outside at her picnic table.  We had a bonfire, discussed our books, and spent much of the evening gazing up at the stunning night sky as it was the weekend of the Perseid meteor shower.  I caught sight of a few shooting stars, and they take my breath away every time!  Lolly also taught me how to spot a satellite, which I was very proud of every time I spotted one. LOL!
  
• Garlic Festival - I attended the Carp Farmers Market for the first time with Sharon and the babes, and we made our trek over specifically because it was Garlic Festival weekend.  We toured the many vendors and picked up some great treats - lots of garlicky stuff! - and enjoyed a gorgeous hot & sunny morning out.  I loved all of the little samples and trying new things.  That said, I also don't deal well with big crowds, and that place was a ZOO.  So while I enjoyed the experience, I was also glad when we packed up and headed for home.  We'd all had enough!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pontoon Ride, Take 2 - Last Saturday, I was thrilled to be invited on another pontoon ride!  My friends Sue and Adam had won a pontoon ride in a past Canada Day Commitee auction, hosted by our other friends Wayne and Brenda up at Brenda's family cottage on Otter Lake, and they asked Sarah, Ian and I to join them for the day.  We had such a great time just putting around the lake, enjoying snack sand drinks, stopping at the sand bar to get out and swim, and at one point just stopping the boat in the middle of a big, peaceful park of the lake, and we sat there for over an hour just chatting.  When we returned to the cottage, we had a delicious BBQ supper, sat out on the deck shooting the shit for hours, and made a visit next door to the corn roast that was going on.  Just an absolutely perfect summer's day!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

There's been a lot of other summer stuff going on... suppers at the chip stand, stops for ice cream, swimming with the kids, ball games, movie nights, and reading on the deck.  So as much as I love fall and can't wait for the cooler weather to get here, no one can say I haven't been enjoying my summer!  It's be a great one, with lots of great times with friends and family...and more to come!!  

Cheers to Summer!!